Best high-end wines: 2017 on-the-tens guide

Once a year we take a few sips in the pricey end of the pool: It's our annual on-the-tens guide to high-end wines.

Our goal is to explain briefly what flavors we're finding; you decide if it appeals to your palate and budget. (No sparkling wine is included as we cover those separately.) Scroll through the gallery for close-up photos of labels and prices. We'll end it with a trio of favorites.

Salud!

OVER $100

The 2014 Don MelchorCabernet Sauvignon ($125) from Chile is amazingly smooth and creamy (last year we tried the '12 at the same price point; the '14 is even better.)

$90 AND LESS

With raspberry in the nose, Michael Mondavi family's savory 2012 Animo Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($85) - named for its mountain vineyard locale - has tannins that smooth down over time, yields subtle cherry and licorice notes, and is made to pair with prime rib and the like. ... 2013Patz & Hall Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir ($90) has strong perfume and floral notes, but while our tasting panel loves P&H wines, this one seems a little much price-wise.

2014 Patz & Hall Gap's Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir ($70) starts with unripened cherry before cedar notes emerge as it grows into a bombastic wine, pleasantly surprising for the varietal. ... 2013Beaulieu Vineyard Tapestry ($65) - a compilation of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc - is a wonderful pairing for meat or pasta dishes, a tannic wine meant for food ... The single-vineyard 2014 Benegas Lynch Malbec($65) from Mendoza, Argentina, is an outstanding example of the varietal, spicy and delicious, equally good as stand-alone sipper or with food. ... The wonderfully smooth 2015 Animo Sauvignon Blanc($65) from Napa offers floral notes and is almost buttery with just a very slight touch of grapefruit.

$60 AND LESS

2014 Jamieson Ranch Vineyards Double Lariat Cabernet Sauvignon ($55) offers menthol and eucalyptus notes, healthy tannins that work well with food or as a sipper. ... The list wouldn't be complete without a good Italian wine, and to that end the 2011 Tommasi Casisano Brunello di Montalcino ($60) is aged for three years in oak casks and yields the spiciness of tobacco and vanilla from oak. ... 2014 Square Peg Pinot Noir($55) from California's famed Russian River Valley has cherry cola, cedar and menthol notes preceding a raspberry-licorice finish, really showing the range of the varietal.

$50 AND LESS

2014 Robert Mondavi Maestro ($50) is a big red blend with an equally big aroma of aged cherries, isn't jammy at all, and very clean tasting with moderate tannins. ... 2014 Beaulieu Vineyard Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon ($44) has blueberry notes, healthy tannins and some cedar. ... 2011 Malleolus Tempranillo ($44) from Spain has blackberry and violet on the nose and is a rich, dark wine, heavy-bodied for its varietal, great with food or a fine sipper (and is the only wine bottle I have seen with braille on the label). ... 2015 Prisoner ($47) from Napa Valley has a great rep for good reason; it has spicy notes and was a big crowd-pleaser among dinner-party pals. ... 2014 Gary Farrell Pinot Noir ($45) - an elegant example of the varietal from California's famed Russian River Valley - is a tough find but it's been making its way to NE Ohio with strawberry, cherry and balanced oak. ... 2013 Dry Creek Vineyard Mariner ($45) from Sonoma County, California, blends 54 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 24 percent Merlot, 10 percent Petit Verdot, 8 percent Malbec and 4 percent Cabernet Franc, resulting in a smoky wine with notes of raspberry and milk chocolate that can stand up to any hearty dish. ... 2014 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon ($44) from Napa Valley is a wonderful wine, with a big aroma of baking spice and nutmeg. ... 2013 Dierberg Pinot Noir ($46) wowed our tasting panel, with dark chocolate, raspberry, subtle cherry and baked cobbler notes. ... 2013 Leviathan ($48) is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah and yields spicy notes and a long finish.

$40 AND LESS

2014 Gundlach Bundschu Pinot Noir ($40) from Sonoma County, California, has a bouquet of flavors, from cranberry and red raspberry on the nose to notes of dried cherries and cinnamon spice on the finish. ... If you're in the mood for a steak wine, 2012 Louis M. Martini Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($34) is a great bet with a flavor and finish that go on forever. ... 2013 Flora Springs Chardonnay ($35) has some oomph to it, peach coming through along with a hint of coconut and oak on the finish. ... Oak and citrus play well together in the 2014 Jordan Chardonnay ($32) from California's Russian River Valley; the flavors balance each other so it's not like a stick of butter has been fermenting. ... 2015Fel Pinot Noir ($38) from California's Anderson Valley was a savory wine, not a typical cherry bomb, and incredibly drinkable. ... 2015 Saldo Zinfandel ($32), with its minimalistic label from the Prisoner Wine Co. in California, yields big spice and savory flavors and is an excellent value. ... 2013 Swanson Merlot ($32) has unripened cherry on the nose, cocoa on the palate and a dry finish - made to pair with steaks or dark chocolate. ... 2010 Agly Brothers Cotes du Roussillon ($38) will satiate French-wine lovers' palates, with black pepper notes coming from its blend of Carignon, Grenache and Syrah. ... 2015 Frank Family Carneros Pinot Noir ($35) has cherry up front followed by a big spicy kick on the finish from the 25-year-old winery. ... 2014Michael DavidInkblot Cabernet Franc ($35) from Lodi, California, is one of the best Cab Francs I have ever tasted, with a long finish and no overwhelming green-pepper notes, tremendously smooth.

$30 AND LESS

Nutty flavors of Blandy's 10-year Madeira ($30) give way to a tangy feel that left my mouth watering after dinner. ... 2013 Wente Charles Wetmore Cabernet Sauvignon ($30) is a big wine from an old winery, a great food wine that dries out immediately and will go with a nice steak. ... 2015Steele WinesDurell Vineyard Chardonnay ($30) offers pear and butterscotch on the palate with just a hint of citrus / lemon and medium oak. ... The rich-tasting 2013 Geyser Peak Alexander Valley Walking Tree Cabernet Sauvignon ($30) has blackberry on the palate and oak on the finish and is meant for a tasty barbecued meal. ... 2013 Parducci Wines True Grit Reserve Petite Sirah ($30) from Mendocino is not a fruit-bomb example of this varietal; it pairs well with beef stew as notes of spice, leather and plum emerge. ... 2014 Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir ($30) is a hearty wine for the varietal with cherry, cranberry and cedar notes, coming from Pinot-fertile Oregon.